The third time it happened, I really wondered what the hell was going on. Each time, my skin and hair would glow, and it was as if my entire body was infused with magic. Not just any magic either—light magic.
Instead of the lightning taking it away, it was feeding it to me.
I could no longer fight the pull of the storms. I couldn’t even lock myself up. We had tried, and I’d broken the chains.
The more times I was struck, the longer I stayed passed out. Eventually, it was going to kill me. Either the strikes would finish the job, or someone else would because I was an anomaly.
I was scared shitless.
I put on fresh clothes and swept my hair into a tight bun. With it close to my head, it was less noticeable. I had tried shaving it all off once, but the next morning it had grown back.
I took several calming breaths, counting silently until the fluttering panic in my chest subsided to a manageable hum. With one final exhale, I pushed aside the tent flap and stepped out.
The immediate surprise was finding Amari shirtless and packing up their tent. His muscles rippled under his skin, and I hated to admit that I found him attractive. He scowled way too much, but that was part of his appeal. There was more underneath it, and I saw that clearly in his emerald eyes when he’d hovered over me in the tent.
Plus, I saw the way he looked at Val like he was his everything. I wanted that. I wanted Nico to look at me like I was his entire world. But that wasn’t what he wanted. He had his world, and it was ripped away from him.
Nico leaving Amari asleep next to me was an interesting choice, considering they mixed about as well as oil and water.
I sighed as I began packing our tent, my fingers working through the familiar motions while my mind wandered elsewhere. I could feel Amari’s eyes tracking my movements, his silent observation prickling the skin at the back of my neck like phantom fingertips. The weight of his attention wasn’t uncomfortable. It was intense. Everything about him was.
I was drowning in a lake of testosterone from every direction, and my body hummed with an awareness that was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. There was a constant ache building between my thighs that no amount of self-pleasure could ease.
Val and Nico came from the trees, interrupting my thoughts, which had drifted toward the risqué. Val was carrying a rabbit, and Nico trailed behind, looking annoyed.
Val handed the rabbit over to Nico and then went to Amari. I couldn’t hear what was said, but he looked upset about something. His eyes landed on me as I watched their exchange.
He was probably wondering why his boyfriend slept in the tent with me. From what I could gather, Amari never slept with Val unless they were engaging in activities of the sexual variety.
“How are you feeling this morning, Peanut?” Nico set to work cleaning the rabbit so he could roast it over the fire. I’d asked him once how he felt comfortable eating one of his cousins, and he’d tickled me without mercy. He smiled as if he were remembering the same thing.
“It’s getting worse. It’s only a matter of time before…” I rolled up the tent and tied it onto his pack. I didn’t want to talk about the possibility of dying. “Amari fell asleep, and you left him.”
He grunted and lowered his voice so only I could hear. “It was like he was under a spell. I tried to get him out, but then he shifted into his panther. As soon as he touched you, he was out cold.”
I furrowed my brows and scratched my forehead. “My mother could put someone to sleep with a touch. Maybe after all these years, I’m getting my powers.”
I was the daughter of two powerful demons yet was bornwith no abilities. At one point, my father accused my mother of sleeping with someone else. Really, what it came down to was that I was a disappointment.
Nico shook his head. “It wasn’t that. I could see some of the light leaving you, and it spread over his body.”
That was a new development. I looked at my hands, examining the palms and the backs of them, turning them over as if the answers might be written somewhere. My skin appeared the same, with no visible changes or strange markings.
“This is not good, Nico.” My voice came out smaller than I intended, tinged with the fear I was trying desperately to control. After years of wishing for powers, they finally manifested in the most terrifying way possible.
Because while I might have spread light magic to Amari, the lightning took it from others and gave it to me.
His fingers paused over the rabbit, knife suspended mid-air as his eyes met mine. There was no judgment there, only concern that deepened the lines around his eyes.
“I know, Peanut, but we’ll get through this just like we have everything else.” Nico’s voice dropped to the tender tone he reserved for when I was truly frightened.
He’d called me Peanut since I’d met him, and somehow the familiar nickname made the situation feel both better and infinitely worse.
After an awkward breakfastwhere no one spoke and Amari kept staring at me, we set off into the forest. We circled through the forest around the village, and about an hour in, Amari caught a scent.
We followed the panther at a distance so that our horses’scents wouldn’t interfere with his tracking. It was a tedious process, and I didn’t know why I volunteered to do it. Part of me wanted to prove myself to the council, but I had a feeling that even if we found the missing demons, they would never accept me.
The silence was killing me and giving me too much time to think. Val picked up his pace until he was next to me but kept his eyes looking straight ahead. “Why did you never send word that you were alive?”
